One Summer (18 page)

“Feels sort of cool,” Mikki said. “On the feet,” she added quickly.

“Me too,” he said, grinning. “Okay, now it’s time for the old tradition of sand angels. Now, that’s—”

“Let me guess.” She plopped down on her back in the sand and moved her arms and legs up and down.

Liam joined her. “Wow, brains and beauty.”

As the music played on, they danced and grew closer.

“This is really nice, Liam.”

“Yeah, it is.”

She cupped his chin with her hand.

“Mikki?” he said questioningly.

She kissed him and then stepped back. “I had a great time, Liam. Thanks for bringing me.”

“Any time. I’m working the late shift this coming week at the Little Bit. Come on down, and I can get you anything you want for free.”

“How can you do that?”

“I’m the cook. Ain’t nothing happening without me.”

Mikki laughed.

“You need a way home?” he asked.

“I actually rode a bike I found at the house. Left it up on the street. It’s not that far.”

“I’ve got a bike too. I’ll ride with you. It’s on my way.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I know. I want to.” He paused, looking embarrassed. “I mean…”

“I know what you mean,” she said softly.

He saw her safely to her house, waved, and rode off.

When she walked in the house, her dad called out to her from the darkened front room.

“So?” he said.

She came forward, squinting in the poor light to see him. He was on the couch looking at her.

“So what?”

“Have fun?”

“Yeah, just at a different party.”

She told her dad about the evening.

“Sounds like you made the right choice.”

She sat down next to him. “So how’s the lighthouse coming? You’ve really been spending a lot of time on it.”

He looked down. “I know it must seem strange.”

“Dad, it doesn’t seem strange. Okay, maybe a little,” she amended with a smile. “But you said the reason we came down here was so you could spend more time with us. Remember? But you and Sammy work all the time, and I’m stuck watching Cory and Jackie.”

Jack’s head dropped lower with this comment. “It’s just… I don’t know. It’s complicated, Mikki. Really complicated.”

Mikki rose. In a disappointed tone she said, “Yeah, I guess it is.”

“But I’ll try to get better. Maybe we can do something next weekend?”

She brightened. “Like what?”

Jack said lamely, “Um, I haven’t thought of it yet.”

Her face fell. “Right. Sure. Good night.”

As she headed up the stairs to bed, Jack started to call after her, but then he stopped and just sat there in the dark.

Neither one of them noticed Sammy standing at his bedroom door listening to their exchange. The former Delta Force member went into his room, picked up his cell phone, and made a call.

As Mikki was running on the beach a few days later, Blake joined her.

He said immediately, “Look, I’m sorry about what happened at the party. Tiff was wasted.”

“Gee, really?”

“She’s usually not that obnoxious.”

“Give me a break. She’s a fricking nightmare in a G-string.”

“Okay, maybe she is. Where’d you end up?”

“Another party on the beach.”

“What party?”

“One Liam Fontaine took me to. And most of the people there were from Sweat Town. Heard of it?”

“Mikki, I live in Sweat Town.”

This stunned her so much she stopped running. “What?”

“My mom works as the housekeeper for the Murdochs.”

“Then why do you hang out with Tiffany?”

“Like I said, my mom works for them.”

“And what, that obligates you to do her bidding?”

Blake laughed nervously. “I don’t do her bidding. I just hang out with her sometimes.”

They started running again. “Well, good for you. Who you hang out with says a lot about a person.”

“Hey, what’s wrong with me being friends with her? Are you saying poor people can only hang out with other poor people?”

“No, of course I’m not saying that.”

“I have a lot of friends in Sweat Town. I play football with a bunch of them. And I go to Tiffany’s and she has cool stuff and I have fun with her. So what?”

“Look, do what you want.”

“Well, what I want is to go out with you.” This time Blake stopped running, forcing Mikki to do the same. “So how about it? Will you go out with me?”

“Why?”

“Why? Because I like you.”

“You don’t really know me.”

“Which is a perfect reason to go out. To get to know each other better. But hey, if you’re not interested, forget it. Have a good one, and I’m sorry I don’t fit your idea of a perfect person. Maybe Liam does.” He started to jog off in the other direction.

“Wait a minute.”

He stopped as she walked over to him. “What exactly do you want to do on this date?”

“What?”

“The plan, Blake. I need to know the parameters of what you’re talking about. I’m not looking to run into a crowd of rich people again and have to kick somebody’s butt.” She added, “Unless it’s Tiffany’s. I actually enjoyed that.”

“It’s nothing like that. There’s a coffee bar in town. They play music at night. Nothing live, but they have a DJ who’s really good. I thought we could go and listen to some tunes, dance, and chill out. That’s all.”

She considered this. “That sounds okay. But just dancing and listening to tunes.”

He eyed her closely. “Why? You got something else going?”

“No, I just—”

“Liam?”

“That’s none of your business,” she said hotly.

“Okay, okay. You’re right. Look, I’ve got my license. I can pick you up tomorrow night around seven?”

“I’ll check with my dad, but I think that’ll be okay.”

“Good,” said Blake. “Glad we got that settled. Want to finish the run?”

She grinned and pushed him backward over a bump in the sand. He fell sprawling on his backside. “Catch me if you can,” she called out as she sprinted off laughing.

He jumped up and raced after her.

“I’m hungry, Jack, so let’s go.”

They were parked on the street in Channing. Sammy was eyeing Jenna’s restaurant, but Jack didn’t seem to want to budge.

“It’s not like this is the only place to eat in town, Sammy.”

Sammy opened his door. “You just need to get over it.”

“Over what?”

Sammy snapped, “She’s just a nice lady who’s trying to be friends with you, and you won’t give her the time of day because you feel guilty about Lizzie.”

“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about! I’m nice to her.”

“Great. If that’s the way you want it. I’m going to eat. Stay here if you want.”

Sammy slammed the truck door and went inside A Little Bit of Love.

Jack sat there brooding, his fingers tapping against the steering wheel. Finally, he climbed out of the truck and followed Sammy inside. His friend was tucked in a corner, already
studying his menu. Jenna wasn’t at the hostess stand, so Jack wandered back and sat down across from Sammy. The older man handed him a menu. “Figured your empty belly would bring you to your senses.”

Jack took the menu, glanced at it, and then dropped it on the table. “I don’t know what you expect from me.”

“I don’t expect anything from you.”

“Well, something’s clearly bugging the crap out of you.”

Sammy dropped his menu too. “Okay, man, let’s hash this out. When’s the last time you played with Jackie? Or Cory? Or said two words to Mikki?”

“I talked to Mikki about stuff just the other night.”

“I know you did because I was there listening. But what exactly has changed? You work all day, and then you work on that damn lighthouse all night. It’s not healthy, Jack. You planning on having any fun ever again?”

Jack stared hard at his friend. “What makes you think I deserve to have any fun ever again?”

“You half killed yourself clawing your way back from a death sentence. And for what? To be miserable the rest of your life?”

Jack picked up the menu. “You’re making it way too simple.”

“And you’re making it way too complicated. You got kids, Jack. They need you.”

“I’m busting my ass to support them.”

“Is that all?”

“What do you mean?”

“The only reason you’re busting your ass? Because of them?”

“I know I haven’t exactly been the perfect father. My daughter has already reminded me of that.”

“She does that because she cares about you. And, hell,
she’s damn near sixteen. She probably wants to spend her time down here doing something other than watching her two kid brothers all day.”

“She went to a party on the beach. She plays music with that Liam kid.”

“Okay, fine, excuse me for giving a damn.”

Jack’s anger evaporated with this last comment. “You’re right. It’s not enough to support my kids. I have to be there for them.”

Sammy looked surprised and relieved. “Well, hallelujah. Maybe after all that work on the lighthouse, you’re finally seeing it.”

“What?”

“The damn light.”

But Jack wasn’t listening to him anymore. He was thinking about something else Sammy had said.

She’s damn near sixteen.

The date popped into Jack’s head. Her birthday. Coming up fast. And it was a big one.

“You guys ready to order?”

Jack looked up to see a waitress standing next to their table. “What?”

The woman smiled and tapped the menu. “This is a restaurant. And that’s a menu. I just took it on faith that you might want to order some food.”

“I’ll take care of these two, Sally,” said a voice. Jenna walked up. “They could be trouble,” she added with a coy smile.

“Okay, boss.” Sally walked off.

Sammy looked at her and grinned. “So tell me the specials.”

“Now, Mr. Duvall, you know that everything on the menu is special, and you’ve eaten most of it.”

Jack looked at Sammy in surprise. “You have?”

Sammy said defensively, “I get hungry. Just because you don’t eat doesn’t mean I have to do the same.”

“How about our famous pork barbecue sandwich with fried onion rings and slaw on top? It’s hell on the arteries, but you’re guaranteed to die with a smile on your face.”

“Sounds good,” said Sammy. He stared at Jack. “Make it two. And make sure you put a smiley face on his; might improve the man’s mood.” He winked at Jenna.

She said, “Well, I wanted to talk to you about something anyway, Jack. Let me put your order in, and I’ll be right back.”

She walked off and returned a minute later, drawing up a chair.

“I’ll get to the point. Your daughter would like to waitress here. And I want to hire her.”

“What?” said Jack. “She didn’t tell me about it.”

Sammy said testily, “She wanted to, but it’s not like you’ve been around.”

Jack ignored this and looked at Jenna. “Waitress?”

“It’s an honest profession, and I pay a fair wage.”

Jack glanced at Sammy. “I’ll have to get someone to watch the boys.”

Jenna said, “I actually thought of that. The lady you’re doing work for, Anne Bethune? She runs a summer camp at her place. It’s right on the beach. The boys could go there. They’d have a great time.”

Sammy said, “I’ve gotten to know Anne, and I saw how the camp was set up. They’ll love it.”

“But
I
don’t really know the woman.”

“She’s the principal at the local elementary school, Jack,” said Jenna. “She has two kids of her own. In fact, when I first
moved here, I put Liam in the camp and he had a blast. She has qualified people helping her too.”

Sammy added, “So that way Mikki can work here during the day. Earn some money, get out of the house. Have a life.”

Jenna added, “And she gets her meals free. I think it’ll be good for her.”

“How much does the camp cost?”

“Now, that’s the interesting thing,” said Sammy. “I’m doing some extra work for her on the side, and Anne agreed to let the boys come there in exchange for it.”

“Sammy, you didn’t have to do that.”

“Like hell I didn’t. They need to have some fun too.”

Jack looked between Jenna and Sammy. “Why do I sense this was all planned out?”

Sammy snapped, “You got a good reason not to do it?”

“Well, no. It actually sounds like a great idea.”

“Okay, then. So what’s the problem?”

Jack locked gazes with Sammy for a long moment before finally looking away. “Okay, fine.”

Sammy slapped the table. “There you go. That wasn’t too hard, was it? Now, Jenna, can you add two beers to our order? I feel the need to celebrate.”

Jenna went off to do this while Jack pretended to go to the restroom. Instead he followed Jenna. “Can I talk to you about something?”

She looked at him in surprise. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,” he said quickly. “I just need to ask you about something.”

“Look, Jack, I know it seemed like we ganged up on you about the camp and Mikki working here, but—”

He smiled. “I actually really appreciate what you’re doing.”

“Thank Sammy. It was his idea. You got a good friend in that man.”

“You’re right. I do.” He looked at her. “And a good friend in you too.”

This comment seemed to catch Jenna off guard.

“I’m just… It’s not that…”

She stopped in midsentence and looked away, flustered.

Jack said, “I know I’ve been a little unfriendly with you, and I’m sorry.”

She quickly looked back at him. “You don’t have to apologize, Jack. In my book you’ve done nothing wrong. So what did you want to ask me?”

“I don’t want to do it now. What time would be good later?”

“I can get away from here around nine.”

“I can pick you up here. Drive you home.”

“That’s fine. Liam has his license. He can drive the car back.”

“I’ll see you then.”

The café was crowded, and Blake and Mikki got as close to the DJ as possible. The tunes were already blasting, and people were dancing. Blake and Mikki got Cokes from the bar and settled into a corner to watch and listen.

“You look really good,” Blake said.

Mikki had on jean shorts, flip-flops, a white sleeveless blouse, and a pair of earrings her mother had given her for her fourteenth birthday. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail, and she’d washed the latest color out of the strands. Her skin had tanned, and her face glowed.